The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a control to address acoustic interactions between multiple fans in an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Some IHSs such as, for example, server and/or workstation systems, often include a plurality of fans in order to address the cooling requirements of the system. The IHSs will often use the same or similar fans in cooling arrays in order to simplify manufacture and reduce costs. The use of the same or similar fans in such cooling arrays can raise a number of issues.
For example, fans of similar size and/or blade geometry may interact acoustically to provide unwanted noise in a system. This may occur whenever a first fan is operated at a speed that is close to the speed at which a second fan is operated, which can result in a “beating” noise that can be distracting to a user of the IHS. Current fan control schemes generally operate fans to optimize thermal performance at the lowest possible fan speed in order to reduce noise. However, such schemes typically do not anticipate the undesirable acoustic interaction that may occur between the fans.
Conventional solutions include operating the fans at different speeds and/or adjusting the fan operation in response to fan noise as measured by a microphone. Such solutions do not address the causes of the acoustic interactions that result in the unwanted noise, and can add unwanted costs.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved control to address acoustic interactions between multiple fans absent the disadvantages discussed above.